Musings from Mexico

This isn't a strictly political blog post, though the inspiration for it came from a conversation with a taxi driver in Zihuatanejo, Mexico about a recent election. Our taxi driver was a very nice gentleman somewhere in his late forties or early fifties, though it has always been hard for me to put an age to people from other countries. My husband asked him if there was an election coming up, as there were banners up all over the place. The driver informed us that the election had past and that the man with the yellow signs won. When my husband asked him if that was a good thing, his responde was: "Who knows! He made so many promises, like they all do. But no one ever follows through with them."

I think these sentiments could be uttered in just about any country in the whole world. Politicians are politicians. Everyone who goes into politics has an agenda, whether or not they are honest about it. "Civilians" who go into politics generally aren't too much different then the politicians. In general, I worry about them as much as the "professionals" because I wonder if they are power hungry or if they really know what they are doing. At least the politicians generally have some idea about the job ahead.

I am an optimist, and I guess I don't like to think that even the wildest promises are made knowing that they cannot be kept. I like to think that the people making the promises are just ignorant or what they will be capable of doing once in office. Ignorance isn't too much better than blatant lying, but at least it's not intentional.

The point of this post (as I said at the beginning) isn't political. Politics are just one thing that bond us as humans. Societies face many of the same problems, and many problems are handled in the same ways. Are there differences? Sure, but I think at it's core, humanity is humanity. To say that any one race is different or superior or lazy or anything out of the ordinary (because we are all equally out of the ordinary), is ridiculous and ignorant and politics is just one more proof of that.

And by the way, if you are ever looking for a beautiful, warm, sunny destination where you can relax and just enjoy a vacation, Zihuatanejo is the most beautiful place I have ever been (yes, I think it beats out Broome, Australia, the previous holder of this distiction). It's not the cheapest place, but it is stunning and the people are so friendly and it is just a great environment! We'll definitely be coming back!